I'm not very good at the Spanish laguage, but I was able to pick out the odd word here and there. The prices that I put up on the post before this, is about the going rate on new units up here in Canada. Some times the odd year end models come on sale, so we end up saving $1000 off of MSRP. I like the pictures you posted of the Colimbia Policia Bikes. It must be tuff to get a round down there at times if it rains from what I've seen of some back road adventures, but I would think that there are some good roads for biking on when things are dry.

I'm guessing that this was what you were talking about between those bikes I seen in you post. It looks like they have a good selection of bikes to pick from down there as well. Suzuki, KTM, BMW, and I guess a few other models as well !!!
But then again, I could be wrong.

Bike prices are much higher in Colombia than they are in Canada. Some manufacturers more so than others - although in march Colombia and the EU will be operating under a free trade agreement. Perhaps some of the Euro bikes will get cheaper.

The OP is from Medellin. It's a city in the mountains where it rains frequently. A lot in the wet season. All the roads in and out of there are switch backs, almost all are paved really nicely. (They don't have frost breaking up the road every 6 months)
Some of the corners get covered in diesel and antifreeze from buses and trucks. I took a spill in the rain on one corner. Bent my handle bars, scratched some plastic.
A big bike there is expensive and unneeded. Most speed limits are about 80km/h or less. If I lived there again, I'd be getting a Supermoto. Something light for the endless tight corners, something with wide, pavement friendly tires, small for Medellin traffic, fuel injected so it can handle the elevation changes while traversing The Andes and with enough suspension to handle the massive speed bumps on the roads. It's a beautiful country - one would want to explore it. As I mentioned in the Spanish post, if I lived there again, I'd get a 690SM.

Oh yeah, I think their selection of motorcycles is better than ours.
On that note, Trulu, some of the older BMW650 bikes in Colombia were Brazillian made and suffered from reliability issues. Careful what you look at.

Bike prices are much higher in Colombia than they are in Canada. Some manufacturers more so than others - although in march Colombia and the EU will be operating under a free trade agreement. Perhaps some of the Euro bikes will get cheaper.

The OP is from Medellin. It's a city in the mountains where it rains frequently. A lot in the wet season. All the roads in and out of there are switch backs, almost all are paved really nicely. (They don't have frost breaking up the road every 6 months)
Some of the corners get covered in diesel and antifreeze from buses and trucks. I took a spill in the rain on one corner. Bent my handle bars, scratched some plastic.
A big bike there is expensive and unneeded. Most speed limits are about 80km/h or less. If I lived there again, I'd be getting a Supermoto. Something light for the endless tight corners, something with wide, pavement friendly tires, small for Medellin traffic, fuel injected so it can handle the elevation changes while traversing The Andes and with enough suspension to handle the massive speed bumps on the roads. It's a beautiful country - one would want to explore it. As I mentioned in the Spanish post, if I lived there, I'd get a 690SM.

Oh yeah, I think their selection of motorcycles is better than ours.
On that note, Trulu, some of the older BMW650 bikes in Colombia were Brazillian made and suffered from reliability issues. Careful what you look at.

the problem with the ktm its that is way to expensive, other that that i would go for it

Thats to bad that bikes are that high priced down there. It all most takes the full out of it before you even get started, and I thought we were at the top for pricing. "WOW."

I have seen some pictures of the stuff they have down there dirtydeed, and I would love to see so of it some day. When you said Andies Mountains I just about start dreams about them, and I can picture the switch backs going up and down. Lots of over heated motors, and brakes burnt off if your not care full I bet. The only switch backs that I have seen that would come close to what you are talking about, was in Mexico. They were so tight, that the trucks on the in side lane are allowed to take the out side lanes so they don't fall off the corners.

I like what you said about the super-moto bikes and I have a dual sport with 50/50 tires for both worlds. I did the Suzuki DRZ 400 S model that I found on sale for $6000 "New." I changed a few thing on it, with a stage 1 power kit, and it is a blast to drive. 330 lbs is pretty easy to operate on and off road, and the air pillow helps me pull off some long days. I just about got my iron butt 1000 mile run on it, but I shut it down at the 830 mile mark. Now that I have the pillow, I plan on the doing it again, with the added 1000 mile on top of that in 36 hours.

I put on the larger fuel tank and change the gearing for this, so speed will help me pull it off this time. I like the KTM 690 with the weigh factor, and I hope to do some more reading on it so I'm better informed of what I might expect for durability.

Oh. I'm sorry to hear that you went down on the messed up road of oil and rad fluid dirtydeed. That defianttly is not nice, and I hope that you bounced back from that. I to have had a few, but each of us come out with diffrent ideas of what works and what we have learn. I was very lucky on my up side down ventures, and I have a soft hand on the throttle now.

the problem with the ktm its that is way to expensive, other that that i would go for it

Based on your local market, I would say a DR650 or a Freewind. They're as simple as your XR. Hecho en Colombia, tambien. The Freewind has bigger valves and dual Carberators. I don't think it's 'better' though. I've owned both and prefer the DR.

Stop by Suzuki Super Servicio on Calle 36 N46-36. Talk to Carlos. He's a great resource.

Simple mechanics? Yes and no. To work on major things (valve adjustment, for example) you have to remove the tank, and some plastic. However, it doesn't need to happen very often. I can remove the tank and plastic in 5 minutes now.

The Versys would also be a good choice, but the V Strom has a 19" front tire, and has a better selection of tires for 80/20. See if a Shinko 705 is available. They are cheap, and work well for pavement and soft off road.

I have one, and love it.
I ride mine for commuting to work, fast weekend rides with friends, and camping/touring. It will easily haul all the gear I need for camping for 2 weeks. I think it's a good compromise between street and dirt. There are many bikes that do one thing better (dirt, freeway) but not much does everything well enough, for that little money.

The KLR is a good, simple, cheap bike. However, on the highway, I do not like single cylinder bikes. Traffic in the US is *very fast* and I don't feel safe if my bike is straining to keep up with traffic. I rode a KLR in Los Angels for 3 years and I didn't enjoy it. Traffic goes 120-130 kph, and I don't think a KLR does well at those speeds, and has minimal brakes for those speeds. It is a better bike offroad than the V Strom.

Have fun!

Quote:

Originally Posted by trululu96

Hi im kind of new in the forum and also new in the motorcycle world, I currently own a honda xr 250 r 1996 and I was seriously thinking in upgrading it to something bigger.

I want a motorcycle that can handle 80% road and 20% soft off road.

The main things that i want from a motorcycle are:

-reliability in long trips
-fun factor in riding
-I want something with simple mechanics so I can understand them.
-cheap to keep it running
-somehow fast

since im not super rich and in my country motorcycles are kind of expensive (i live in colombia) i tought about this motocycles:

But it basically has been an incredibly reliable bike that never left me stuck anywhere. Issues I had were minor at best and only occured after lots of mileage. I would still be riding that bike if they didn't come out with the 2012 which I like even more.

Besides being very reliable aand durable, the Stroms are great commuting bikes, touring bikes, back road twistie bikes, two up bikes, gravel road bikes and basically a do-almost-anything bike. I don't do any real off-road so can't comment on that but I see lots of pictures of people going offroad with them.